Nasser Bader Alsaleh, PhD

Dr. Nasser Alsaleh is a faculty member at the Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, College of Pharmacy, King Saud University. He earned a master’s degree in Pharmaceutical Sciences from the University of Alberta (Edmonton, Canada) and a doctoral degree in Toxicology from the University of Colorado (Dever, United Sates). Dr. Alsaleh’s research is primarily focused on addressing questions related to the safety of engineered nanomaterials particularly those used in biomedical applications and nanomedicine. His research has contributed to understanding the molecular mechanisms driving interaction and toxicity of engineered nanomaterials in immune cells including the mast cell. His research work has also been focused on understanding the impact of nanomaterials on cellular homeostasis at subtoxic exposure levels. The overarching goal of Dr. Alsaleh research is to better understand the toxicological consequences of engineered nanomaterials at the cellular and molecular levels, ultimately to inform safety regulation and unravel novel therapeutic intervention. Dr. Alsaleh has authored and co-authored over 30 peer-reviewed articles, and he received multiple awards including the prestigious Heim Award (Harold C. Heim Endowment) in recognition of his outstanding research and scholastic achievement in his doctoral studies.

Research interests 

• Molecular toxicity of drugs and environmental toxicants
• Safety of engineered nanomaterials
• Molecular interactions between nanomaterials and immune cells
• Therapeutic implications of nanomaterials at the molecular level

Research goals

• Elucidate the molecular mechanisms of nanomaterial-bio interactions
• Understand the impact of nanomaterials on cellular homeostasis at subtoxic concentrations
• Understand the impact of nanomaterials on contexts of susceptibility (e.g., co-exposures, co-disease)
• Utilize nanomaterials to understand fundamental cellular processes and identify novel therapeutic targets

Current projects

• Assessing the safety of novel polymeric nanomaterials on macrophages
• Understanding the impact of gold and silver nanoparticles in cellular senescence within the context of cancer
• Investigating the toxicity of nano-vanadium on macrophages with a focus on the impact of shape
• Investigating the impact of iron oxide nanomaterials on neuronal function and differentiation at subtoxic concentrations
• Assessing the impact of nanoplastics on basic cellular function

Current and previous graduate and PharmD students:

• Fahad Alhabshan (PharmD student. 2024–current). Fahad is currently getting training in the lab to eventually start working on his own project investigating the toxicity of nano-vanadium on RAW 264.7 cells, with a particular interest in understanding the impact of shape on the internalization and consequent toxicity.
• Noura Alnqer (MSc in Toxicology student, 2023–current). Noura is currently carrying out experiments as part of her thesis project investigating the role of gold and silver nanomaterials on cancer cell senescence.
• Emad Alshehri, Sultan Alghamdi (PharmD students. 2023–24). Emad and Sultan investigated the impact of imeglimin, a newly approved medication in Japan, on the RAW 264.7 cells. Their work demonstrated the safety margin of imeglimin on the RAW 264.7 cells.
• Anas Aljarbou (Masters of Toxicology, defended Jan 2025). Anas’s project was focused on immune toxicity of ZnO (1%)-doped MnO nanoparticles. His research findings provided new insights into the safety the doped vs. undoped nanomaterials including the molecular interactions between the nanomaterials and cells. The findings of Anas’s project were published in the Journal Pharmaceuticals (Pharmaceuticals (Basel). 2024 Jan 29;17(2):168.).
• Areej Alotaibi (Masters of Toxicology, defended Jan 2022). Areej's project investigated the synergistic response of combining zinc oxide or silver nanoparticles and conventional antibiotics against clinical isolates of MDR bacteria from local hospitals. Her research work was focused on determining the best combinations against the different MDR bacterial strains including the doses of both engineered nanomaterials and antibiotics, while still ensure safety of the treatment on human cells. The findings of Areej’s project were published in the Journal Antibiotics (Antibiotics (Basel). 2022 Sep 8;11(9):1219). Areej also won the Best Research Poster Award at the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) Research Conference (Thuwal, Saudi Arabia, 2022).
• Abdullah Almutairi, Fahad Aldajani (PharmD students. 2021–22). Abdullah and Fahad investigated the impact of nanomaterials at subtoxic concentrations on the RAW 264.7 cells. They won the Best Poster Award at the College of Pharmacy Research Day (2022).
• Mohammed Alnakhli (BPharm student. 2019–20). Mohammed’s research project was focused on understanding the toxicity of zinc oxide nanoparticles on the RAW 264.7 cells.